Giants In A Sandbox
by onlie
Summary: Ruthie, the omnipotent all knowing one, is about to meet her match!
1. Cold Heart

Glen Oak had been very cold that day. But not as cold as Ruthie's heart. The twelve year old girl was having the time of her life, in Grade 6 and enjoying one of her best years ever. She walked down the corridors of her school, prim and proper, studying every individual she came across in the hall, weeding out all the individuals who she thought were losers. Like those who wore black clothing, or boys that wore earrings, or maybe those who did not fit her standards of perfection. It was her job to play judge and jury, to be a spy and warning system for her family. Tell them of any potential heathens and evildoers to her family for rooting out and isolating them for possible eradication. This was who she was, it was her destiny, and she loved every minute of it.  
  
"Hi Ruthie. You're not going to believe what I just heard.", Peter said as he approached her from the side. Ruthie liked Peter very much because she provided her with something that made her feel like an adult, a boyfriend.  
  
"Hi Peter. What's that?"  
  
"There's this rumor going around that one of the students is delivering drugs."  
  
"No! You mean a drug dealer?"  
  
Peter nodded.  
  
"Have they caught him yet?"  
  
"Well actually the principal is acting as if nothing is happening. She's just ignoring it."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Peter shrugged, "I asked her the same thing but she just said it was only a rumor and completely untrue."  
  
"Well I'm going to tell my mom about it and see if my parents can get to the bottom of this."  
  
Suddenly as she rounded the corner she walked straight into Linda De Leon, the girl who kept calling her 'monkey luvah'. Something dropped from around Linda's neck and Linda hurriedly picked it up.  
  
"Hey watch it Camden!", Linda said as she put something back around her neck and walked past her. Ruthie's eyebrows furrowed as she recognized the object as a stethoscope. But something was engraved on it that she had heard about before, the word Bulldog. She had heard her parents mentioning it before and she was not happy. For the rest of the day she could not quite put her finger on it and it bothered her that she could not remember the significance of that name. She prided herself in knowing everything.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Annie Camden was furious when she heard the news. She began making calls to other parents of schoolchildren who went to Ruthie's school. How dare she ignore the problem! Drugs were dangerous! There was going to be all hell to pay.  
  
Ruthie was in her room looking through her little black book. She kept looking through all her notes and still could not come up with the answer. And for that matter what would Linda be doing with a stethoscope anyways? That was odd. She hid the little black book in it's hiding place, a small locked chest she used to keep her most private things. Then went downstairs again.  
  
Annie was cooking dinner now and Ruthie decided to ask her mother, "Mom why would a classmate of mine be carrying a stethoscope with the name Bulldog written on it?"  
  
Annie stopped what she was doing and stared at Ruthie as if she had just did something horrendous.  
  
"Who did you see carrying a stethoscope like that?", Annie said in a serious tone.  
  
"Linda DeLeon. One of my classmates. Why?"  
  
Annie made one of her faces, the one that would frighten even God, and kneeled in front of her daughter, her hands firmly on Ruthie's shoulders.  
  
"I want you to promise me that you will never get involved with that girl, ever. She's bad."  
  
"What did she do?"  
  
"Nothing that you should know about. Believe me she is a nothing but a bad influence. Promise me."  
  
Ruthie nodded and Annie hugged her daughter and said, "It's nice to know I have at least one other daughter who would do good in this world."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Ruthie was determined more than ever to find out what Linda's secret was. Annie looked like she would explode if she knew that Ruthie and Linda were friends. Which made it all that more enticing. If Ruthie could find out Linda's secret and expose it she would be dethroned as the most popular girl in the school. Which would make Ruthie, the second most popular, the new queen of the school. Definitely worth trying! Now why would Linda be carrying a stethoscope? And what is the significance of the word 'Bulldog'? 


	2. Annie's Threat

Ruthie had convinced Peter to help spy on Linda. The two shared classes with the girl, though not all three together, which meant that they would have to meet later after school to compare notes.  
  
That's what they were doing now and to Ruthie's disappointment they came up empty. Nothing unusual but Peter did notice the stethoscope around Linda's neck which he too thought was very odd.  
  
So the two decided to follow Linda around. Linda was now with her friend Caroline Polleter. And the two seemed to be chatting about something. Unfortunately Ruthie and Peter were too far away.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Are they still there?", Linda asked.  
  
"Yep. You would think that at least Peter would know there is a law against stalking people."  
  
"Carol Peter is Ruthie's puppet. Ruthie say Peter do.", Linda said rolling her eyes. She took out a small black bag and checked it's contents which included several small bottles and syringes.  
  
"Be careful Linda remember no one else knows your secret."  
  
"Don't worry besides Mrs. Kramer knows. And if I get into trouble I could always call Chandler. He knows my secret."  
  
"Who are they for?"  
  
"Joey Kelmer. He's running out and I need to run over to his place and deliver these."  
  
"I hope he's okay."  
  
"Oh he'll be fine..."  
  
Suddenly Ruthie and Peter were walking towards them. "What's in the bag?", Ruthie asked.  
  
"None of your business Camden.", Carol said standing in between Linda and the two stalkers.  
  
"And why not? What are you hiding?", Ruthie said, "And why are you carrying a stethoscope?"  
  
"It's personal okay. And would you do yourselves a favor and stop stalking us or else I'll call the police and have you arrested.", Linda said and suddenly there was a beeping sound and Linda looked down at her beeper.  
  
"Hey! Those are illegal in a school!", Jake said and Linda looked down and said..  
  
"Shit! I gotta run! Carol I have to go somewhere immediately. It's an emergency. I'm sorry but this is urgent."  
  
"I'll go with you. And go away you two. We don't have time for you losers.", Carol said and the two hurriedly brushed past Ruthie and Peter.  
  
"Should we tell the school principal about the beeper?", Peter asked.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Mrs. Camden. Whether or not Linda should be allowed to do what she does is beside the point. It is none of your business. And quite frankly the choice is hers and hers alone. Not yours."  
  
"Linda is handling a tremendous adult responsibility. One that requires adult decisions. She is a child! She must not be allowed to make such decisions!"  
  
"I don't care.", Mrs. Donovan, the vice principal and apparently cohort to Linda said, "She is not your daughter for starters and to be honest you have no right to control her and what she does. If you try to stop her I will bring you to court."  
  
"I see. So you are not stopping her."  
  
"No."  
  
Ruthie and Peter looked at each other as they eavesdropped on the conversation. What was Linda's secret? And why was the vice principal defending Linda? What was so special about the popular girl. Was there a conspiracy going on here?  
  
The two had taken the opportunity to listen in at the office door while the secretary was out doing errands. As it turns out Mrs. Donavan opened the door suddenly on the eager spies in training and the two fell on top of each other.  
  
"And will you please take Ruthie home? She should be working on her geography homework not snooping around and torturing Linda. Her grads are dropping in that class you know.", the vice principal said and Annie glared at Ruthie.  
  
"I am still passing.", Ruthie whined.  
  
"We'll talk about this later. Now go. And Peter I will be driving you home today."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Linda let out a sigh of relief. The paramedics wheeled Joey Kelmer into the ambulance and was now being transported to the hospital. She would have gone with them to the hospital but the paramedics insisted she stay behind.  
  
"What happened?", Carol said.  
  
"He forgot to monitor his..."  
  
Then before she could say anything Annie grabbed her arm and turned her towards her, "I am going to talk to my husband and we're going to stop you from doing what you do."  
  
Linda met the woman's glare with her own, "And if you do I will take you to court.", unlike most children Linda did not flinch when confronted by Annie and in fact roughly slapped away Annie's hand in defiance.  
  
Annie stared at the girl and again felt frustration. Everytime she tried to stop Linda, tried to make Linda become a child in her eyes she failed miserably. Any amount of glaring and intimdation seemed to spark the girl even more.  
  
"You just wait and see..", Annie said and she brushed past the two. Ruthie and Peter were staring at Linda.  
  
"What are you hiding Linda?", Ruthie said suspisiously even more anxious to find out Linda's secret.  
  
"Oh go fuck yourself.", Linda said and stormed off to her parents' car which just drove into the school parking lot.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Ruthie was still trying to figure out what Linda was hiding. She wrote down all the clues she had acquired and researched. What was Linda hiding that was important and so evil that her mom became obssessed over her? And what was the significance of the stethoscope? This was getting juicy! And Ruthie wanted, needed, no she had every right to know. It was her destiny to weed out wrongdoers. To make her parents proud. Then mom would be truly proud of her and she would be happy, and the most popular girl in the school to boot? 


	3. Hell Hath No Fury

Linda was relieved that Joey was all right. But she had been slightly shook up by her confrontation with Ruthie's mom. The woman was the most dominating adult she had ever had to put up with. She had met various adults who tried to put her in her place and turn her into somebody she was not, but Annie was the most aggressive and persistent of all of them. But Linda bravely moved on with her life, unwilling to let the psychotic run her it to the ground.  
  
Linda and Carol visited Mr. Tim Hardy, a man recovering from a triple bypass. She checked his vitals, listened to his heart with her stethoscope, took his blood pressure, and even did an electrocardiogram.  
  
"You look to be okay Mr. Hardy. You still taking the medicine the doctor gave you?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Good. And I'll see you in three weeks.", Linda said smiling and cleaning and packing up with her.  
  
"You take care huh?"  
  
Linda nodded and smiled, "You too Mr. Hardy."  
  
"So are you getting along at school okay?"  
  
"Yeah except Mrs. Camden is hassling me today."  
  
Mr. Hardy shook his head in disgust, "That meddlesome woman. Don't let her get to you. Who is your next appointment? My son will drive you."  
  
"Actually you're my last patient. Thanks Mr. Hardy."  
  
Mr. Hardy nodded as he took Linda's appointment card she used to put the date of her next patient visits.  
  
David Hardy, who was Linda's brother's best friend was waiting for the girls outside in the car. He was a friendly sort of teenager, and actually had a soft spot for younger kids.  
  
The drive home was uneventful and Caroline was allowed to sleep over at Linda's house. When they got home Mrs DeLeon was in the kitchen with her husband making dinner. Both were professional chefs with budding careers and usually every meal was a gourmet. But Linda loved it. And she loved her parents regardless of who they were as they loved her regardless of who she was. Oddly enough she hadn't realized it until a year ago.  
  
"Hi ma, hi dad."  
  
"Hey sweetie. How was your day?", Tom DeLeon said.  
  
"Okay. Mr. Hardy is doing well."  
  
"Good. But how was school."  
  
"It's fine.", Linda said.  
  
Both parents nodded and Sandra added, "Well dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Why don't you go change and wash up and we'll call you when dinner is ready."  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Carol may I tell you something?"  
  
Carol nodded.  
  
"I'm thinking of returning to Los Angeles."  
  
"Why? Aren't you happy here?"  
  
"Well yes. I just want to finish what I started. And I really loved working in a major hospital. It was more challenging then."  
  
Carol nodded and shrugged, "Well will you write to me often?"  
  
"Of course. It's not like I'm abandoning you or anything, Los Angeles is only three hours away you know."  
  
"Yeah I guess. I'll really miss you though.", Carol said. She knew this day would come eventually, ever since she found out about Linda's secret.  
  
Linda looked down and felt guilty. In a way she wasn't sure whether she was doing the right thing. She instinctively thumbed her stethoscope and was lost in thought. Carol sensing Linda's pain moved over to embrace her and Linda gladly returned it. They sat there crying for a minute.  
  
"Don't forget to write huh?"  
  
"I won't."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Dinner was delicious as ever and there was lots of chatter and good family time. Linda had told her parents about her confrontation with Annie and the two swore to put an end to it.  
  
"That's it I'm putting a restraining order on that woman. She has been harassing you long enough."  
  
"Dad I don't think it's necessary."  
  
"No Linda. She's gone far enough.", Mrs. DeLeon agreed.  
  
"But."  
  
"No buts."  
  
Linda wanted to argue even more but a stern look from her father and she knew it was fruitless. The truth is she did not want to get her parents into trouble. The Camdens were powerful in this town and messing with them would lead to trouble for both of them.  
  
Then the doorbell rang.  
  
"I wonder who that might be?"  
  
Mr. DeLeon answered the door and Linda recognized a cop named Kevin, Lucy Camden's husband. Roxanne was with them as well. And just to make things worse, Ruthie and Peter were with them.  
  
"Hi I'm Officer Kevin of the Glen Oak PD. Apparently Ruthie says that your daughter might have been hiding drugs in her locker."  
  
Linda frowned and was about to say something but her father held up his hand to tell her to keep quiet.  
  
"I take it that Ruthie hasn't figured out Linda's secret yet?"  
  
"No but these are serious charges."  
  
"Yes but it's not what you think. Would it be okay if me, my wife and my daughter have a chat with you two alone in my office?"  
  
Kevin looked at Roxanne and she shrugged and nodded.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Carol, Ruthie and Peter were in the dining room eating what was left of the dinner. Ruthie had an evil look on her face as if she were a vulture swooping in for the kill. And Carol wanted to strangle the life out of the know it all.  
  
"So how long have you and Linda been dealing drugs?", Peter said.  
  
"Were not."  
  
"Oh really, Ruthie responded, "Then why was Linda carrying a bag full of syringes?"  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about."  
  
Ruthie pulled something out of her back pocket. It was one of Linda's syringes.  
  
"This fell out of Linda's black bag earlier."  
  
"Give me that!", Carol reached over to snatch it from Ruthie's hand but Ruthie was quicker.  
  
"Why does Linda own a stethoscope?"  
  
"None of your business! And that syringe isn't yours."  
  
"I'm sure that this will make for an interesting topic among your friends. After all why would Linda be carrying these unless she were a drug dealer or better still a drug addict."  
  
"You little bitch!", Carol went around the table and threatened Ruthie. Peter stepped in her way but Carol shoved him back and the two started to grapple.  
  
"Hey what's going on in there.", Mrs. Deleon said entering. Peter and Carol stopped fighting but Carol then kneed him in between the legs, dropping Peter in an instant. Kevin, Roxanne, the DeLeons and Linda jumped in trying to separate Ruthie and Carol since Carol then charged Ruthie, once free of Peter, and the two started scuffling. Peter was bawling and clutching his private parts while all this was going on.  
  
++++++++++  
  
By the time the night was over, Kevin and Roxanne had to call Carol's parents to bring her home. Oddly enough Roxanne told Ruthie that Linda was not guilty of any drug dealing and just to leave it at that. Even stranger, Kevin gave Linda her syringe back. That made no sense at all.  
  
The next day Peter stayed home and the school got a call from his mom saying that Peter was sick. He was limping and waddling all day. The doctor's said he will be fine. But Ruthie could not get any information from Kevin, who echoed Roxanne's own orders by telling her to mind her own business.  
  
But Ruthie was Ruthie and nothing, and absolutely nothing was beyond her knowledge. She had to know everything. It was her duty, her right. That way she could be superior to everyone else around her and use that knowledge to gain an advantage over them. And she was going to find out, no matter what. 


End file.
